Cavegirls Battle Wildcats in 2026 Inaugural

By Don Eskins

Cavegirl soccer, following a disappointing 4-13-2 season in 2025, has been working hard during off-season workouts in hopes of righting their ship this year.

CHS’s girls will take the first step toward achieving that goal against the Lovington Wildcats in Lovington on Tuesday, August 18. The JVs will take the field first at 4 p.m., followed by the varsity at 6 p.m.

The Wildcats, who experienced a season almost identical to CHS during 2025, posted a record of 4-13-3. Last year, the Cavegirls played Lovington twice, winning the first game 3-0 and tying the second, against a vastly improved group of Lady Cats, 0-0 in four OTs.

“Our girls are excited about opening up the new season. They all want to right our ship,” said Cavegirl head coach Misty Long. “And what better place for us to kick off the new season, with all those goals in mind, than in Lovington.

“No doubt, like us, they’ll be wanting to start off the new season with a win,” said the Cavegirl coach. “So, playing in front of their fans, we can expect to see only their best effort.”

Leading the 2026 Effort

As the season prepares to kick off, Long said she felt like her kids were ready to meet this year’s challenges.

“Not only have our kids been working hard, but they’ve also been looking really good,” said Long. “We’ve had several girls step up big for us during our off-season workouts. If we can get those same kinds of efforts during the season, I feel like we’re going to be very competitive.”

Several players, back for another run at district and state, have caught the eyes of the Cavegirl coaching staff during their summer workouts.

“Although we lost some great athletes to graduation last year, we have a lot of returnees this year,” said coach Long. “Along with very good efforts, they’re also providing us with a great deal of leadership.

“We’re seeing a lot of good things from a lot of girls right now. Senior Thalia Payanes, a first-team All-District selection last year and a returning team captain, is doing a great job of holding down the middle for us,” she continued. “We also expect to get a lot of help in the middle from juniors Ashlynn Martinez and Emma Allen. Both girls are very athletic. 2026 should be a great year for them.”

Two other Cavegirls have especially caught Long’s eye.

“Our goalie, Serenity Medrano, has looked very good. As a sophomore, and only in her second year of soccer, she has unlimited potential. She’s a beast on the field; we really expect to see some great things from her this year,” said the Cavegirl coach. “Another girl we’ll be leaning on is Juliette Licon. As with Serenity, she’s only a sophomore.”

Unfortunately, CHS won’t have Licon’s services when they square off against Lovington. The Cavegirl forward is currently out due to an off-the-field injury.

As with Payanes, Martinez, Allen, Medrano, and Licon all earned All-District honors during 2025.

Note: The Cavegirls, still engaged in tryouts, weren’t expected to release their varsity roster until Wednesday, August 12.

On Deck for CHS

The Cavegirls, who open 2026 in Lovington on Tuesday, August 18, will return to Carlsbad for their second game of the new year.

On Monday, August 24, they’ll host the Portales Rams. The JVs will play first at 4:30 p.m., followed by the varsity at 6:30 p.m.